Lost
by Antonia-x
Summary: Post Shadowplay, spoilers for Shadowplay &  probably anything after that too. A sort of attempt at explaining Frankie leaving the Cold Case Unit.Also sort of deals with dark-ish themes.


**I've never written Waking the Dead before, so I figured I'd be brave and post it. So, yeah, do be brutally honest if you review. **

He rocked the scientist gently, back and forth; all the while wondering how exactly they came to be here. Her head was pressed tightly against his chest, as she wept painfully. He rested his chin gently on the top of her soft brown hair, somehow managing to whisper reassuring things into her hair, as his own salty tears rolled down his cheeks, disappearing into her hair.

Her friend was dead. His friend was dead. And, no, it wasn't some cruel day, they shared the friend.

He wasn't even sure how long they'd been there, it didn't even matter to him, when her heavy breathing through strained sobs came to a sudden stop. She pulled away suddenly muttering frantic apologises as she brushed harshly at his chest; trying to wipe the stain of her tears and mascara away.

She hadn't been herself for a while now, and then he remembered, remembered why they were rocking back and forth on the cold, hard floor of her lab. Just to set the record straight, he'd never been any anywhere at a better time ever, he should probably thank Grace - when he told her what happened, of course.

_He grabbed a white lab coat from the rack, because he knew she'd kill him if he didn't, before he pushed the button to let him into her lab; he could see her huddled figure over the table staring absently at the computer screen. _

_He knew what he was looking at the moment he saw it; but it took almost too long to register, he couldn't tear his eyes away, but he was rooted to the spot, as he watched her methodically place the little white pills in a careful, neat line across her table. She put one in her mouth. Followed by another. And then another… Then he found his voice. _

"_Frankie!" She didn't react, didn't even flinch. _

"_Frankie?" He practically screamed at her as he watched the line, decrease in length again. _

"_Frances!" The sudden, harsh use of her full Christen name was what it took, she paused and dropped the fifth pill from her hand, onto the line of pills causing them to scatter; as she collapsed against him, sobbing softly, and all he could do was hold her. _

He shook his head violently trying to get rid of the image and turned back to the scientist, her head was rested on his shoulder, her eyes trying to close drowsily. Panic set in then, carefully, he picked them both up off the ground all the while managing to keep a hand on her face, letting him look at her.

"Frankie…" He trailed off when he seen her eyelids flutter open, then, however close again.

"Sleep…Spence…so…sleepy…" Her incoherent mumblings were what prompted him to grab the phone, and dial the direct line to Boyd's office.

"Boyd, it's Spence, get Grace and get to the lab it's Frankie… I'll explain when you get here, just get here, fast." He'd barely finished speaking when Boyd hung up on him, quickly putting the phone in its cradle and turning his attention to drowsy Frankie.

"Frankie, open your eyes, talk to me?" He rested his forehead against hers as he held her steadily against the counter behind her.

"About…?"

"Whatever you want?"

"Mel?"

"Do you want to…?"

"I…miss…her…"

"I know, I know, I do too. There's Grace and Boyd, okay, you're going to be okay, okay?" He turned round at the sound of the door opening to reveal Grace and Boyd; each it would seem in different states of shock.

"What's going on Spence?" Boyd's strong voice broke the silence, as he glanced from Spencer and Frankie, to Grace, to the pills scattered around the floor, to Grace and then back to Spencer and Frankie.

"In a minute, you need to find out what they are, please?" Spencer gestured wildly at the floor as he returned to supporting Frankie as he helped her into a seat.

"Ahh!" Grace waved the box towards Spencer, indicating that she had indeed worked out what the pills were. "Doctor Frances M. Wharton…" She whispered softly and then trailed off as she continued to read on. "Spence, how many did she take?"

"Four, I think." He suddenly realised she may have taken some before he arrived, and immediately directed his question to Frankie. "Frankie, four, that's all? No more?"

"Four… no more." She muttered softly in agreement.

"Good! There just sleeping pills, Spence. She'll be fine, just really bloody sleepy."

Spencer let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, as he heard Boyd sigh in relief, before crossing the room, to help Spencer steady Frankie.

"We should maybe watch her, let her sleep in the couch in my office, I think we have to talk."

* * *

"She has to speak to someone." Grace, who was sat gently stroking Frankie's hair, as she slept peacefully curled up at Grace's side, spoke firmly, it was a statement not a suggestion.

"You?"

"No Boyd, not me."

"Why not you?" Grace shook her head and rolled her eyes, he always just had to disagree with her.

"She just tried to kill herself, Boyd! She's not stable. Mel's death, obviously, effected her quite badly." Grace struggled to maintain her firm voice without shouting and waking Frankie.

"They'll tell her to take time off… she hates time off, even more than me." Boyd smiled at his own point, softly, and then looked at Grace as though his fact settled the matter.

"She needs time off…"

"What if she doesn't want to come back?" That was it, he'd said it, his biggest fear and even though he was looking at the ground, he could still feel Grace and Boyd's eyes on him. Then Boyd done something he never thought he would, he leant over and gently rested his hand on his arm and smiled at him weakly. "I just don't want to lose her too, y'know, after Mel…" He trailed off and Grace nodded understandingly before beckoning for him to move near, Boyd followed suit.

Thinking about it now, he was certain, that even then that they all knew they'd never see Frankie again. She was just too weak; Mel's death had rattled her strong exterior and completely broken her eventually. Though he didn't often find himself thinking of her now, today he had too. As soon as he had seen it: a research paper on something science-y that he would never really understand - though had she ever to tell him about it he would nodded encouragingly and smile proudly - by Doctor Frances Mary Wharton.

It was just good to know that things were sorted with her, well as much as they could be.

* * *

**Okay, so, it's sort of like a flashback until the last paragraph, though that wasn't the original plan. However, if you are here, thanks for actually sticking with it until the end. Anny, x.**


End file.
